Tom Brady is a top tier QB. Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images
One key to winning in your fantasy drafts is not being married to the idea of having a particular player on your team. Unless you have the first pick, no player is guaranteed to you, and even then only one player is guaranteed. Rather than say “I want to build my team around this guy and this guy,” try to put each position group into tiers. If someone you hoped for isn’t available, this will have you a set backup plan at that position. You may also realize that you can take a tier 2 WR over a tier 4 RB, or if your first few tiers at a position start to disappear, you know you need to jump on someone you like with your next pick. Here are my positional tiers heading into draft day.
QUARTERBACKS
TIER 1
Aaron Rodgers
Tom Brady
Russell Wilson
Unfortunately, I rarely see these types of players in my draft. I tend to wait on quarterback, and these are the names that people will jump on early. Don’t get discouraged. Just improve your team in other spots.
TIER 2
Cam Newton
Drew Brees
Deshaun Watson
Carson Wentz
There should be a gap between these guys and the first tier, though I am still likely to be waiting a bit. Newton and Watson both have extremely high upside, thanks to their rushing abilities. Brees is almost always a lock for 600 pass attempts per season. Wentz’s health is the biggest question mark on him right now. If healthy, he is solid in this tier.
TIER 3
Ben Roethlisberger
Kirk Cousins
Philip Rivers
Matt Stafford
Jimmy Garoppolo
Andrew Luck
Matt Ryan
This is usually the tier I am shopping in. These guys should be going late enough that if you take someone with a question mark (Andrew Luck-health/Jimmy G-sustained success), you can afford to take another QB later on as insurance. All of these guys have their warts, but are all capable of putting up Tier 2 numbers if the cards fall right.
TIER 4
Jared Goff
Dak Prescott
Marcus Mariota
Derek Carr
You are starting to take more risks here, but there is some solid upside, with either potential for big passing seasons from Goff/Carr or bonus rushing points from Mariota/Prescott.
TIER 5
Patrick Mahomes
Alex Smith
Mitch Trubisky
Blake Bortles
Eli Manning
Case Keenum
Andy Dalton
Here we are talking about guys you are OK with if playing in a 2-QB league. Otherwise these are guys you don’t mind picking up while your top QB has a bye week.
TIER 6
Jameis Winston
Sam Bradford
Joe Flacco
Tyrod Taylor (maybe not after last night)
Josh Rosen
Sam Darnold
Baker Mayfield
Josh Allen
This tier is filled with guys who may or may not be starting Week 1, and may or may not hold onto their job through the season if they do. These are guys who should go undrafted unless you play in really deep leagues or have 2-QB rules.
RUNNING BACKS
TIER 1
Todd Gurley
Le’Veon Bell
This is a small tier, and if you play in a PPR format (most leagues play at least .5-PPR at this point), they are even further away from the competition.
TIER 2
Ezekiel Elliott
David Johnson
Elliott would be tier 1 if he contributed more in the passing game, and Johnson could be tier 1 if he doesn’t show rust after missing basically all of 2017.
TIER 3
Alvin Kamara
Kareem Hunt
Saquon Barkley
Leonard Fournette
This is a “do you believe the hype” tier. Kamara was such a force last year, and won’t have Mark Ingram to compete for touches with early on, but can he repeat his magical 2017? Is Barkley going to take the NFL by storm and dominate from day 1? Fournette would be in tier 2 but is almost a nil in the passing game.
TIER 4
Melvin Gordon
Devonta Freeman
Dalvin Cook
Joe Mixon
Christian McCaffrey
Most people seem to be higher on Gordon than I am. The workload will definitely be there, but I just don’t think he is a great player. Mixon and McCaffrey are high upside backs who should see an increase in touches from last season.
TIER 5
Jordan Howard
Jerick McKinnon
Alex Collins
Kenyan Drake
Jay Ajayi
LeSean McCoy
All of these platers have a high risk of being massively disappointing, although guys like Howard and McCoy could finish the season significantly better than I am projecting here. Drake and Collins will get first looks but will be looking over their shoulders all year.
TIER 6
Derrick Henry
Lamar Miller
Mark Ingram
Royce Freeman
Tevin Coleman
Rashaad Penny
Ronald Jones
Kerryon Johnson
Marshawn Lynch
Marlon Mack
This is the back end of your RB2 possibilities. Freeman, Penny, Jones and Johnson are all rookies who have a chance to take a bulk of the carries by season’s end. Henry could finish higher if Dion Lewis doesn’t cut into his carries too much. Coleman is one of the best #2s in the league.
TIER 7
Dion Lewis
Rex Burkhead
Sony Michel
Isaiah Crowell
Jamaal Williams
Carlos Hyde
Chris Thompson
Adrian Peterson
Lots of running back by committee guys here. I wouldn’t feel good about drafting one as a starter, but as bye week filler and injury replacements these guys can contribute just fine. Peterson jumps out as the big name who could do considerably better if the workload is there for him.
TIER 8
Tarik Cohen
Devontae Booker
Samaje Perine
Giovani Bernard
Duke Johnson, jr.
Nick Chubb
CJ Anderson
Chris Carson
Peyton Barber
James White
Most of these guys are “cross your fingers” types. They are best drafted as a late round flier or a handcuff to your starter (i.e. Bernard for Joe Mixon).
WIDE RECEIVERS
TIER 1
Antonio Brown
DeAndre Hopkins
Odell Beckham, Jr.
Julio Jones
Brown is almost in a tier of his own. These are the WRs that are acceptable to draft in round 1.
TIER 2
AJ Green
Michael Thomas
Mike Evans
Davante Adams
Tyreek Hill
You can still feel good if this is your WR1. Guys like Evans and Hill have QB questions but are unquestionably talented.
TIER 3
TY Hilton
Keenan Allen
Stefan Diggs
Doug Baldwin
Amari Cooper
Here is the WR1/WR2 border group. If these are your #2 guys, you are extremely strong at the position. If they are your WR1, you will need a solid #2 in the next couple of rounds.
TIER 4
Adam Thielen
Brandin Cooks
Allen Robinson
Marvin Jones
Demaryius Thomas
Larry Fitzgerald
Golden Tate
JuJu Smith-Schuster
Jarvis Landry
Chris Hogan
This is a big group, and encompasses most of the guys I consider solid WR2 players.
TIER 5
Alshon Jeffery
Marquise Goodwin
Josh Gordon
Corey Davis
Devin Funchess
These are the other guys I would feel OK about as WR2. Goodwin has a chance to have a breakout season. Gordon is obviously capable of blowing up if he can stay away from blowing smoke.
TIER 6
Julian Edelman
Sammy Watkins
Robby Anderson
Cooper Kupp
Robert Woods
Randall Cobb
Emmanuel Sanders
Marqise Lee
Nelson Agholor
This is essentially where my group of WR3 possibilities ends in an ideal world. If you have these guys as bench depth, your WR group is extremely strong.
TIER 7
Kelvin Benjamin
Kenny Golladay
Will Fuller V
Michael Crabtree
Kenny Stills
Sterling Shepard
Jordy Nelson
Jamison Crowder
Pierre Garcon
Allen Turns
Tyler Lockett
DeSean Jackson
Richard Matthews
This is my first level of bench WRs. These guys are also decent FLEX plays if you are weak at RB.
TIER 8
DJ Moore
DeVante Parker
Mohamed Sanu
Mike Wallace
Paul Richardson
Jermaine Kearse
Terrance Williams
Calvin Ridley
Christian Kirk
Danny Amendola
Ryan Grant
Mike Williams
Courtland Sutton
John Ross
These guys are late round fliers. You can’t count on production every week out of these guys, but these guys are solid enough to fill out your roster with. Some guys, like Ridley and Ross are regarded as top level prospects and could end up as gold.
TIGHT ENDS
TIER 1
Rob Gronkowski
Yep. Just him. You can draft him as early as round 2 because he is a class ahead of the field in the weakest division, and can give you close to the same numbers as a RB or WR in the same range. Only question with him is health.
TIER 2
Travis Kelce
Zach Ertz
These two have closed the gap somewhat on Gronk, and if you are not looking to use a top three pick on a tight end, these guys can still get you solid productivity.
TIER 3
Greg Olsen
Jimmy Graham
Jordan Reed
Kyle Rudolph
Delanie Walker
The drop from tier 2 to 3 is massive, and if you don’t get one of the top 3 guys, you would be wise to wait a while to grab your guy. Graham could have a strong year if Rodgers uses him in the red zone. Reed has the best potential of this tier, but the most health concerns.
TIER 4
Trey Burton
Evan Engram
David Njoku
Jack Doyle
Cameron Brate
These guys are less proven and More of an upside play. More high risk than tier 3, but could easily meet their production.
TIER 5
Tyler Eifert
Eric Ebron
Ryan Griffin
Jared Cook
OJ Howard
This isn’t ideal, but some of these guys could be serviceable if you don’t want to invest in a crapshoot position.
DEFENSE/ST
TIER 1
LA Rams
Jacksonville
Minnesota
Philadelphia
TIER 2
LA Chargers
Baltimore
Denver
Houston
TIER 3
Pittsburgh
Seattle
Carolina
New Orleans
TIER 4
New England
Dallas
Detroit
Kansas City
Atlanta
Chicago
Tennessee
KICKERS
TIER 1
Stephen Gostkowski
Justin Tucker
Greg Zuerlein
TIER 2
Harrison Butler
Wil Lutz
Jake Elliott
Matt Bryant
Josh Lambo
Chris Boswell
Graham Gano
TIER 3
Robbie Gould
Matt Prater
Mason Crosby
Dan Bailey
Adam Vinatieri
Caleb Sturgis
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.